It all started with a 6:00 A.M. show at the dispatch 
office at ONA´s Jamaica office. There were approx 125 
employees who included maintenance, flight attendants, 
ground personal and cockpit crewmembers. We were on our 
way to Frankfurt, Germany with final destination of 
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. 

I was positioning to Jeddah, as were most of the other 
employees. We were to work for approx one month to fly 
and support The Hague using five DC-8’s and two DC-10’s. 

It was a cold rainy dark morning, we arrived at the 
aircraft and made sure our bags made it on board and 
staked out our seats for the long trip. I had just 
purchased, prior to video cameras, a super eight sound 
movie camera. I ask the crew if I could sit in the 
cockpit and film the take-off and landing.

The captain was Stinky Davis, co-pilot Ray Carrier and 
F/E Jack Holland. They said, ”Ok no problem just film 
our good sides.”

That morning the aircraft weight was 555,000 lbs max 
gross. We had all our spare parts and supplies to 
support the operations for the next two months onboard. 
I sat on the jump seat behind the Captain to get a good 
shot of the take-off. My first mistake that day was 
to show up for work the second not fasting my seatbelt.
  
We were directed to 13 rights, which had just been 
opened for operations and was the long runway. 

We started the take off roll and I started my camera 
shooting out the cockpit window. A few seconds later 
Stinky told Jack that there were birds on the runway, 
watch the Engine Exhaust Gas Temperatures. At that 
time, I redirected the camera to include the center 
instrument panel just in case anything happened, 
we would have it recorded for later use. The next 
thing I know there was a loud sound as if someone 
was hitting the nose of the airplane with a sledge 
hammer (boom, boom, boom, boom,) then there was a 
god awful explosion from the right wing and the 
wing lifted up. At the same time all kinds of warning 
lights, horns and the crew calling out ” Fire, Three 
power loss,” etc. This was a lot different than the 
emergency in a DC-8 which I am familiar with. 

The airplane was shaking, with small explosions from 
main wheel area, instrument panel vibrating real bad. 
The crew was trying to get it under control. Stinky 
started to abort the take-off. They were all doing 
their jobs, calling out reverse, spoilers, and the 
aircraft not stopping and” I will try to take the high 
speed turnoff ”. I kept the camera rolling next thing 
I know we were turning to the left on the high speed 
turn off. But the speed and weight was too much for 
the main landing gear, it collapsed.  

I was thrown forward up into the middle of the control 
console, I pushed  myself back from the center instrument 
panel at the same time Ray opened his side window and said 
“ the whole FxxxxxG airplane is on fire." The nose gear 
was still extended making the flight deck on a big angle, 
I looked down and found my camera picked it up and watched 
Ray go down the escape tape, followed by Jack. I figured I 
should maybe get out but as I stood up to get to the window 
all I could see was stinkey’s big ass. I decided that he 
could not get out so I elected to go back into the cabin. 
I opened the cockpit door only to see a bunch of people 
moving around and the center dividers; seats bent forward 
and the overhead bins down.

I started to open the forward entry door but was a bit 
slower than one other passenger, someone yelled don’t open 
it,  but it was to late he had already pulled the handle.  
The door open and the slide went out into a river of fire. 
I then moved over to the right entry door and some one 
opened it. I looked out and saw fire I started to go back 
to the cockpit and use the tape to get out. Out of the 
corner of my eye I saw a girl go down the slide. I turned 
around to see if she made and she did. I thought for a few 
seconds and decided the slide was better than the tape. 
Which later proved to be right all three guys that went out 
the window had tape burns on their hands.

I stood on one side of the door and the guy that opened the 
door on the other. We assisted the evacuation with a stiff 
shove till the cabin was almost empty. As we were helping 
the people out the aircraft it was burning, rocking with 
small explosions.  I was waiting for the big one, The fire 
was about 50 feet away a solid wall, When I left the cockpit 
I placed my camera on one of the pax seats. When I got ready 
to leave one of the senior stews ask me if I was going to 
leave it. I grabbed my camera  and slid down the escape slide, 
I started to run away from the aircraft then stopped about 
half a mile away, I looked back and I was still too close so 
I ran some more.

Sometime later the airport sent out a people mover to pick up 
all the people wandering around the airport. Everybody got out 
of the aircraft and scattered like the wind. After everybody 
was checked out for injuries and really none found, we were 
taken to the Holiday inn at the airport to adjourn to the bar 
in the basement. We managed to drink it dry.

I said I had a bottle of scotch in the office. So I went over 
to ONA’S office and retrieved it, then invited a few people in 
my room to continue.  The room filled up with smoke from 
everybody’s nervous smoking. It was still raining off and on
And someone opened the window to let out the smoke. The room 
had a wall air conditioner/heater under the window. The 
curtains on the window were blowing inside with the rain and 
caught on fire when the heater shorted out. Everybody ran out 
of the room leaving me alone with curtains on fire. I looked 
around and found the Gideon bible and beat the fire out and 
turned off the heater. It was time to quit for the night.

That’s what happened to the DC-10 in New York.

Ben Conatser, Perris Valley, California